Bound Together (47 page)
Authors: Marie Coulson
“
It’s
not
your
fault. And besides it’s not ruined. I just have an awesome
story to tell.”
Amy snorted. “Yeah, hey
everyone guess what I got for my birthday? Arrested!” I laughed
with her and Mel as Jared re-entered the station. “Car’s waiting.
Let’s go jailbait.”
Feigning annoyance, Amy
gawked at him. “Who are you calling jailbait?”
“
You three. Angry birds.
Really can’t trust you to go anywhere can I?” Taking my hand he
smiled at me and kissed the top of my head as he led us to the car.
Threading our fingers together, he held me tightly all the way to
the college dorms.
Climbing out of the car,
he rushed to the other side to speak to Amy. I couldn’t hear what
they were saying but she was nodding and smiling. Glancing inside,
she ushered Mel out. “Mel’s going to hang here a while so you and
Jared can have some alone time. We’ll catch you later, ok?” I knew
I would see her at my party and wondered if that had anything to do
with Jared whispering in her ear. Smiling, I said good bye and
watched as my two girlfriends walked away, chatting and laughing. I
was pleased that they got on so well. I’d worried that some
jealousy might have developed between them concerning me, but it
never seemed to be an issue. They both knew they held a special
place in my life and I loved them both dearly.
Sliding in next to me,
Jared instructed Daniel to take us back to his place. Brushing his
thumb over my knuckles he stopped as it hit against my new ring.
Bringing it to his lips he kissed the back of my hand softly. “Do
you like it?”
Smiling broadly I nodded.
“I love it. It’s wonderful, just like you.”
My smile caused the split
in my lip to pull and I hissed in pain as it pinched and throbbed.
“I can’t believe that she did that to you. I could have killed her
when I saw you walk in like that. It took every ounce of my
self-control to stop myself from strangling her.” He ran his thumb
across my bottom lip and I held my breath as he touched the tender
and painful cut. Shaking his head, he scooted closer to me and
pulled me onto his lap. Holding me tightly to his chest he exhaled
exasperatedly. He looked exhausted and I couldn’t help but feel
guilty for his worn out state. The night with Ollie and then our
episode in the bathroom was enough to wear out the best of men.
Adding to that your girlfriend and her two friends being arrested,
the pressure was enough to drive a man to murder. Throw in a
venomous ex-lover and you’ve got the worst twenty four hours of
your life.
Nuzzling my face into his
neck I sighed deeply and winced. Lifting my head from his shoulder
he gazed at me confused. “Baby what’s wrong? Are you in pain?” I
shook my head weakly and hung my head in my hands. Pulling my hands
away, he lifted my chin making me look at him. “Layla you’re
avoiding me, what’s wrong?”
“
It’s everything. Last
night. Ollie. Being arrested. I’m too much trouble and I don’t know
why you put up with me. I’ve put you through so much in the last
few weeks it pains me knowing how much damage I’ve done. You’re
exhausted. I can see it and it’s my fault.” Holding my head to his
chest he hushed me, threading his fingers through my hair. “Shhh.
No baby. You are a lot of things, but trouble is not one of them. I
can never get too much of anything you are or anything you do. Last
night was a necessary evil and now it’s done. We’ve met, exchanged
words and he knows exactly how I feel and I have weighed and
measured him also. I won’t lie, knowing he’s around you makes me
manic, worried and insecure but I trust you with all my heart. I
know you’d never do anything and if anything did ever happen
between you, you’d tell me. As for you being arrested, granted, it
was something I could have done without today but it happened and I
fixed it. It wasn’t your fault. I have no doubt that Alicia
instigated it and provoked you to attack her so I want you to stop
thinking about it and enjoy what’s left of your day. No more talk
of you being too much for me to handle and I am not exhausted by
you. I just have a lot going on right now; but, I wouldn’t give you
up for all the tea in China baby.”
Guilt was consuming me as
I thought about what he had said. Would I tell him if anything
happened between me and Ollie? I never told him about the kiss or
the way I’d felt about Ollie before he came along. Ollie was hot
and there was no denying there was a physical attraction between us
but I didn’t love him. I loved Jared and telling him about a kiss
that I didn’t want nor instigated was pointless and could only do
more damage than good. Honesty was clearly always going to be a
deal breaker for us. How could I constantly berate and punish him
for hiding things and keeping secrets when I was walking around
with some of my own? Now
I
felt exhausted and I still had my party to get
through.
“
Jared, what were you and
Amy talking about?”
He shrugged. “Oh just
thanking her for calling me and I told her I’d be bringing you to
the party tonight. I have your clothes and everything you need so
don’t worry. I just wish you didn’t have to show up with those
marks on your beautiful face.”
Now I was the one
shrugging. “It’s fine. We’ll call them my battle scars but I can
cover them with makeup anyhow.” Chuckling he kissed my nose and
gave me a very sweet butterfly kiss. “My very own warrior princess.
I like it.”
everything he’d done for me that day, I hurried into the house
eager to eat, shower and get ready for my party. Fishing my cell
from my bag, I dialed my dad. Disappointment ached inside me as for
the third time that day, I couldn’t get an answer. The same
happened when I called mom and I was beginning to feel abandoned
after neither had wished me a happy birthday as yet. Trying to hide
my hurt feelings, I made my way to the living room and flopped onto
the huge soft cushions of the couch. Jared entered a moment later
with a bottle of witch hazel and a cotton pad. Sitting beside me,
he held my chin between his finger and thumb and gently dabbed the
ointment over my cut lip. I hissed as the sting bit into my sore
flesh. “Sorry baby but it has to be done.” The medicinal smell made
me heave as my empty stomach lurched and rolled. Chuckling, he
finished tending the scratches next to my eye and took my hand.
Leading me to the kitchen, he sat me on a stool in front of the
counter.
Opening the fridge, he
scanned its contents. “Ok, so I have eggs, butter and a whole load
of stuff I can’t pronounce. Omelet sound good?”
“
An omelet sounds great.”
I watched as he worked his way around the kitchen like a pro. He
was an excellent cook and I was in awe of his many talents. After
he’d glided me effortlessly around a ballroom I knew he was a
talented dancer, I’d heard him singing to Elvis on my first morning
there and his business empire was constantly expanding. He really
was extraordinary. Taking the glass of water he’d poured me, I
smiled. “So who taught you to cook?”
Turning his head briefly
from the frying pan, he smiled at me. “My mother. She was an
amazing cook. She could take the most unlikely ingredients and make
a meal from them. As soon as I was tall enough to reach this
counter I was cooking.” I continued to smile, beaming at him as he
spoke so warmly about his mother and how they’d spent hours baking
and cooking together right in that room where I was
sitting.
He resumed his cooking
and glancing around the room, I saw a newspaper. I enjoyed the
gossip and celebrity sections, so sliding from my stool I walked to
the kitchen counter and began to thumb through it. Turning to the
gossip pages I gasped in horror. Jared immediately snapped his head
up. His face full of concern, he stared at me. “What? What’s
wrong?” Pointing at the article, I shook my head while my hand
pressed against my wide open mouth. Taking up half a page was a
picture of me and James Felix. Amy had been completely cropped out
and it looked as though the two of us were on a date. Striding
over, Jared gripped the counter top on either side, caging me in as
he peered over my shoulder and read the caption aloud. “James Felix
and date Layla Jennings.” His grip on the counter tightened and I
could feel his breathing become heavier behind me as the warm
breath blew against my neck. Still staring in total shock and
confusion I shook my head. “I swear Jared I was not on a date with
that man. That’s the night Amy and I went to the opera. He was all
over her and if you saw the whole picture she’s at the other side
of him. I swear I had nothing to do with this. Ask Arthur Kent, he
was there, he warned me about it and…”
Turning me to face him he
growled. “He has his hand on your skin Layla! His grubby,
disgusting hands on
your
flesh. How could you let another man touch you?
And least of all him!”
“
I
didn’t
let
him touch me. The moment he laid a finger on me I made my
escape. This was right before I left to speak to Arthur. He told me
that you and Felix don’t get along and that I should stay away from
him so I did.” Letting go of the counter he pushed away from me and
paced up and down, running his fingers through his hair. Great.
Anxious and irritated Jared was back.
“
So even though you were
made perfectly aware that I wouldn’t like that you were in his
company, you neglected to tell me about it. Why? Why didn’t you
tell me you met him Layla? That he posed for press photographs with
you?”
“
Because I didn’t exactly
expect them to turn up in a newspaper Jared. He was flirting and
romancing my roommate, not me. It was just dinner and a drink for
goodness sakes! Calm down. It’s not a big deal.”
Pointing at me accusingly
and glaring he snarled. “Bullshit Layla! You didn’t tell me because
you knew I’d get mad. Well I’m not mad, I’m fucking livid! If I had
known about this at least I could have run damage control. God, now
every dinner, formal and social event people will see you and think
you and he were together! Do you know how that makes me feel or
look? Knowing people will look at you as another of his dirty
little past times. Your name and face are a direct connection to me
Layla and people expect me to date a certain kind of woman. How can
I possibly fix this now? It’s printed, read and seen by everyone. I
can’t believe you keep pulling this shit on me. You’re such a
fucking hypocrite!”
What did he call me? Was
he freaking serious!? Infuriated and insulted I picked up my glass
of water and tossed it in his face, glowering at him as I did so.
He stood frozen, scowling at me through his soaked hair. “What the
fuck!?”
Storming out of the
kitchen and into the sitting room I searched for my purse so that I
could make my leave but he was soon on my heels. Grabbing me by the
wrist he twirled me around to face him. “Where are you going? Did I
say we were done here?”
Water droplets dripped
from his golden brown hair as his shirt clung to his body, soaked
right through to the skin. Twisting and pulling my wrist, I tried
desperately to escape his clasp. “Fuck you Jared. I don’t need your
permission to leave. Let me go!” I was through with his
accusations, insults and icy tone. Fear crept up my spine as I
realized that maybe this was it, he’d had enough of all the drama
too and was finishing our relationship. Preparing myself for the
end, I turned to walk away but catching my other wrist, he held
them both in one hand and pushed me down onto the sofa. Flat on my
back he laid on top of me pressing me into the plush cushions. He
held my wrists tightly at either side of my head and although I was
furious I was also a little turned on. Water trickled from his hair
onto my face and down my cheeks. His eyes flared and blazed with
anger as he stared down at me, his mouth mere inches away from
mine. “You are going to hear me out and then we will discuss it.
Understand?” I kicked and squirmed beneath him trying to get free
but it was no good, he had me pinned like a wrestler. “If you don’t
stop wriggling and trying to cause me injury, I’m going to tie you
to the table. Got it?” I groaned in frustration.
“
You
called me a hypocrite Jared and what the fuck did you mean by
people expect you to date a certain type of woman? What type
am
I
exactly?”
He grimaced and I could
see I’d hit a nerve as his words fired back at him. “I meant that
people have a pre conceived idea of the women I would be associated
with and someone Felix would date would not be one of them. And
you
are
a
hypocrite Layla. You lecture and question me about having honesty
in our relationship and yet here you are, keeping things from me
again. You promised that you wouldn’t lie to me anymore. If you
want trust between us, you have to start being more truthful
with
me
. It’s
getting really fucking tedious and I’m sick of being the last to
know everything. James Felix is a slug. He chews women up and spits
them out and you and Amy should stay as far away from him as
possible. It never ends well. He gets what he needs and bails. And
if I ever see him so much as glance at you again I’m going to
throttle him with my bare hands. Stay away from him. Do you
understand?”
It’s
not
your
fault. And besides it’s not ruined. I just have an awesome
story to tell.”
Amy snorted. “Yeah, hey
everyone guess what I got for my birthday? Arrested!” I laughed
with her and Mel as Jared re-entered the station. “Car’s waiting.
Let’s go jailbait.”
Feigning annoyance, Amy
gawked at him. “Who are you calling jailbait?”
“
You three. Angry birds.
Really can’t trust you to go anywhere can I?” Taking my hand he
smiled at me and kissed the top of my head as he led us to the car.
Threading our fingers together, he held me tightly all the way to
the college dorms.
Climbing out of the car,
he rushed to the other side to speak to Amy. I couldn’t hear what
they were saying but she was nodding and smiling. Glancing inside,
she ushered Mel out. “Mel’s going to hang here a while so you and
Jared can have some alone time. We’ll catch you later, ok?” I knew
I would see her at my party and wondered if that had anything to do
with Jared whispering in her ear. Smiling, I said good bye and
watched as my two girlfriends walked away, chatting and laughing. I
was pleased that they got on so well. I’d worried that some
jealousy might have developed between them concerning me, but it
never seemed to be an issue. They both knew they held a special
place in my life and I loved them both dearly.
Sliding in next to me,
Jared instructed Daniel to take us back to his place. Brushing his
thumb over my knuckles he stopped as it hit against my new ring.
Bringing it to his lips he kissed the back of my hand softly. “Do
you like it?”
Smiling broadly I nodded.
“I love it. It’s wonderful, just like you.”
My smile caused the split
in my lip to pull and I hissed in pain as it pinched and throbbed.
“I can’t believe that she did that to you. I could have killed her
when I saw you walk in like that. It took every ounce of my
self-control to stop myself from strangling her.” He ran his thumb
across my bottom lip and I held my breath as he touched the tender
and painful cut. Shaking his head, he scooted closer to me and
pulled me onto his lap. Holding me tightly to his chest he exhaled
exasperatedly. He looked exhausted and I couldn’t help but feel
guilty for his worn out state. The night with Ollie and then our
episode in the bathroom was enough to wear out the best of men.
Adding to that your girlfriend and her two friends being arrested,
the pressure was enough to drive a man to murder. Throw in a
venomous ex-lover and you’ve got the worst twenty four hours of
your life.
Nuzzling my face into his
neck I sighed deeply and winced. Lifting my head from his shoulder
he gazed at me confused. “Baby what’s wrong? Are you in pain?” I
shook my head weakly and hung my head in my hands. Pulling my hands
away, he lifted my chin making me look at him. “Layla you’re
avoiding me, what’s wrong?”
“
It’s everything. Last
night. Ollie. Being arrested. I’m too much trouble and I don’t know
why you put up with me. I’ve put you through so much in the last
few weeks it pains me knowing how much damage I’ve done. You’re
exhausted. I can see it and it’s my fault.” Holding my head to his
chest he hushed me, threading his fingers through my hair. “Shhh.
No baby. You are a lot of things, but trouble is not one of them. I
can never get too much of anything you are or anything you do. Last
night was a necessary evil and now it’s done. We’ve met, exchanged
words and he knows exactly how I feel and I have weighed and
measured him also. I won’t lie, knowing he’s around you makes me
manic, worried and insecure but I trust you with all my heart. I
know you’d never do anything and if anything did ever happen
between you, you’d tell me. As for you being arrested, granted, it
was something I could have done without today but it happened and I
fixed it. It wasn’t your fault. I have no doubt that Alicia
instigated it and provoked you to attack her so I want you to stop
thinking about it and enjoy what’s left of your day. No more talk
of you being too much for me to handle and I am not exhausted by
you. I just have a lot going on right now; but, I wouldn’t give you
up for all the tea in China baby.”
Guilt was consuming me as
I thought about what he had said. Would I tell him if anything
happened between me and Ollie? I never told him about the kiss or
the way I’d felt about Ollie before he came along. Ollie was hot
and there was no denying there was a physical attraction between us
but I didn’t love him. I loved Jared and telling him about a kiss
that I didn’t want nor instigated was pointless and could only do
more damage than good. Honesty was clearly always going to be a
deal breaker for us. How could I constantly berate and punish him
for hiding things and keeping secrets when I was walking around
with some of my own? Now
I
felt exhausted and I still had my party to get
through.
“
Jared, what were you and
Amy talking about?”
He shrugged. “Oh just
thanking her for calling me and I told her I’d be bringing you to
the party tonight. I have your clothes and everything you need so
don’t worry. I just wish you didn’t have to show up with those
marks on your beautiful face.”
Now I was the one
shrugging. “It’s fine. We’ll call them my battle scars but I can
cover them with makeup anyhow.” Chuckling he kissed my nose and
gave me a very sweet butterfly kiss. “My very own warrior princess.
I like it.”
Chapter
33
A Picture Of Mass
Destruction
everything he’d done for me that day, I hurried into the house
eager to eat, shower and get ready for my party. Fishing my cell
from my bag, I dialed my dad. Disappointment ached inside me as for
the third time that day, I couldn’t get an answer. The same
happened when I called mom and I was beginning to feel abandoned
after neither had wished me a happy birthday as yet. Trying to hide
my hurt feelings, I made my way to the living room and flopped onto
the huge soft cushions of the couch. Jared entered a moment later
with a bottle of witch hazel and a cotton pad. Sitting beside me,
he held my chin between his finger and thumb and gently dabbed the
ointment over my cut lip. I hissed as the sting bit into my sore
flesh. “Sorry baby but it has to be done.” The medicinal smell made
me heave as my empty stomach lurched and rolled. Chuckling, he
finished tending the scratches next to my eye and took my hand.
Leading me to the kitchen, he sat me on a stool in front of the
counter.
Opening the fridge, he
scanned its contents. “Ok, so I have eggs, butter and a whole load
of stuff I can’t pronounce. Omelet sound good?”
“
An omelet sounds great.”
I watched as he worked his way around the kitchen like a pro. He
was an excellent cook and I was in awe of his many talents. After
he’d glided me effortlessly around a ballroom I knew he was a
talented dancer, I’d heard him singing to Elvis on my first morning
there and his business empire was constantly expanding. He really
was extraordinary. Taking the glass of water he’d poured me, I
smiled. “So who taught you to cook?”
Turning his head briefly
from the frying pan, he smiled at me. “My mother. She was an
amazing cook. She could take the most unlikely ingredients and make
a meal from them. As soon as I was tall enough to reach this
counter I was cooking.” I continued to smile, beaming at him as he
spoke so warmly about his mother and how they’d spent hours baking
and cooking together right in that room where I was
sitting.
He resumed his cooking
and glancing around the room, I saw a newspaper. I enjoyed the
gossip and celebrity sections, so sliding from my stool I walked to
the kitchen counter and began to thumb through it. Turning to the
gossip pages I gasped in horror. Jared immediately snapped his head
up. His face full of concern, he stared at me. “What? What’s
wrong?” Pointing at the article, I shook my head while my hand
pressed against my wide open mouth. Taking up half a page was a
picture of me and James Felix. Amy had been completely cropped out
and it looked as though the two of us were on a date. Striding
over, Jared gripped the counter top on either side, caging me in as
he peered over my shoulder and read the caption aloud. “James Felix
and date Layla Jennings.” His grip on the counter tightened and I
could feel his breathing become heavier behind me as the warm
breath blew against my neck. Still staring in total shock and
confusion I shook my head. “I swear Jared I was not on a date with
that man. That’s the night Amy and I went to the opera. He was all
over her and if you saw the whole picture she’s at the other side
of him. I swear I had nothing to do with this. Ask Arthur Kent, he
was there, he warned me about it and…”
Turning me to face him he
growled. “He has his hand on your skin Layla! His grubby,
disgusting hands on
your
flesh. How could you let another man touch you?
And least of all him!”
“
I
didn’t
let
him touch me. The moment he laid a finger on me I made my
escape. This was right before I left to speak to Arthur. He told me
that you and Felix don’t get along and that I should stay away from
him so I did.” Letting go of the counter he pushed away from me and
paced up and down, running his fingers through his hair. Great.
Anxious and irritated Jared was back.
“
So even though you were
made perfectly aware that I wouldn’t like that you were in his
company, you neglected to tell me about it. Why? Why didn’t you
tell me you met him Layla? That he posed for press photographs with
you?”
“
Because I didn’t exactly
expect them to turn up in a newspaper Jared. He was flirting and
romancing my roommate, not me. It was just dinner and a drink for
goodness sakes! Calm down. It’s not a big deal.”
Pointing at me accusingly
and glaring he snarled. “Bullshit Layla! You didn’t tell me because
you knew I’d get mad. Well I’m not mad, I’m fucking livid! If I had
known about this at least I could have run damage control. God, now
every dinner, formal and social event people will see you and think
you and he were together! Do you know how that makes me feel or
look? Knowing people will look at you as another of his dirty
little past times. Your name and face are a direct connection to me
Layla and people expect me to date a certain kind of woman. How can
I possibly fix this now? It’s printed, read and seen by everyone. I
can’t believe you keep pulling this shit on me. You’re such a
fucking hypocrite!”
What did he call me? Was
he freaking serious!? Infuriated and insulted I picked up my glass
of water and tossed it in his face, glowering at him as I did so.
He stood frozen, scowling at me through his soaked hair. “What the
fuck!?”
Storming out of the
kitchen and into the sitting room I searched for my purse so that I
could make my leave but he was soon on my heels. Grabbing me by the
wrist he twirled me around to face him. “Where are you going? Did I
say we were done here?”
Water droplets dripped
from his golden brown hair as his shirt clung to his body, soaked
right through to the skin. Twisting and pulling my wrist, I tried
desperately to escape his clasp. “Fuck you Jared. I don’t need your
permission to leave. Let me go!” I was through with his
accusations, insults and icy tone. Fear crept up my spine as I
realized that maybe this was it, he’d had enough of all the drama
too and was finishing our relationship. Preparing myself for the
end, I turned to walk away but catching my other wrist, he held
them both in one hand and pushed me down onto the sofa. Flat on my
back he laid on top of me pressing me into the plush cushions. He
held my wrists tightly at either side of my head and although I was
furious I was also a little turned on. Water trickled from his hair
onto my face and down my cheeks. His eyes flared and blazed with
anger as he stared down at me, his mouth mere inches away from
mine. “You are going to hear me out and then we will discuss it.
Understand?” I kicked and squirmed beneath him trying to get free
but it was no good, he had me pinned like a wrestler. “If you don’t
stop wriggling and trying to cause me injury, I’m going to tie you
to the table. Got it?” I groaned in frustration.
“
You
called me a hypocrite Jared and what the fuck did you mean by
people expect you to date a certain type of woman? What type
am
I
exactly?”
He grimaced and I could
see I’d hit a nerve as his words fired back at him. “I meant that
people have a pre conceived idea of the women I would be associated
with and someone Felix would date would not be one of them. And
you
are
a
hypocrite Layla. You lecture and question me about having honesty
in our relationship and yet here you are, keeping things from me
again. You promised that you wouldn’t lie to me anymore. If you
want trust between us, you have to start being more truthful
with
me
. It’s
getting really fucking tedious and I’m sick of being the last to
know everything. James Felix is a slug. He chews women up and spits
them out and you and Amy should stay as far away from him as
possible. It never ends well. He gets what he needs and bails. And
if I ever see him so much as glance at you again I’m going to
throttle him with my bare hands. Stay away from him. Do you
understand?”
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